{Saguaro/Colossal Cave National Park | Mothers Day 2012}
God is so good. It's taken a pretty incredible 4 years to get to this point of celebrating Mommy Day 2012. I won't hash out the heart struggles today. I just wanted to share something personal today--my joy in my family. These are my 2 children. I'm pregnant with #3. (sadly we failed to get any baby bump pictures...you can whine at me later - i just look mostly fluffy anyways.)
Lawson suggested we find a place to go hike with the kids. So weird how he reads my mind sometimes. Ive been wanting to check out Saguaro National Park the past few weeks (confession: yes there was an alternative motive that was work-oriented. I've been craving to find some crazy awesome Tucson backdrops for portraits...and yes also, I confess I tend to pronounce it SAG WAR OH. laugh and call me gringo. do it. I dare you)
Lawson snagged some great accent shots of desert stuff. 
the kids haven't been hiking since last summer. I've said it before and i'll say it a thousand times henceforth--the older they get the more fun it is to do stuff like this! Jordyn was so thrilled with the freedom of treking on her own two feet. :D Judah was a little obsessed with stepping on snakes. Dad, in all his mighty warning wisdom, told the kids to be 'careful of snakes'...Judah freaked a little and we had to coax him a little to be brave and trudge forward...carefully.
they pretended to hunt for tigers in these tall sticks...
as you can clearly see, Judah was a very committed tiger hunter.
by the end of our trek in the desert, you could tell we had run our little munchkins ragged
while resting back in the picnic area Lawson went to go destroy a dead tree with Judah. While ripping off the bark Jordyn was about to thrust herself upon the trunk and try to scale the darn thing. I heard this very fatherly yell, whipped around to find Lawson swopping the kids up and backing up about 10 feet from the tree. Apparently he found a spider cluster. I think he attempted to protect his manhood by insisting it might have been a brown recluse nest. What a hero.
we also had a grand time catching this lil lizard and helping the kids get friendly with it. Judah was pretty sure he was going to lose a limb but still giggled hysterically when he got to feel the poor thing's racing heartbeat. 
all in all, it was my most favorite mother's day thus far. definitely beat's last year's lonely experience and watching these spawn of mine grow and change rocked my face off. So to sign off...this is them, my offspring, yelling 'happy mommy day' at the top of their lungs. :D Peace. | lkm
Tyler + Megan | Tucson Engagement Session | Pt.2 - "Romance in a Desert Wash"
{Tyler + Megan | Engagement Session | North Tucson | April 2012}
After we hit up T + M's favorite date spot (See Part One), we sauntered over to the nearby wash (a common landmark in Tucson). I wasn't sure what to expect. As a photographer stationed in the desert (grin) I'm still workin' on my collection of locations and backdrops to shoot in...I'll have to write more about the changing and challenging scenery later. While Megan was anticipating a couple romantic hugs on the bridge I suggested we jump down INTO the wash (which was an impressive feat for a client in a sassy dress, a pregnant photographer and a grip of camera gear). But we did it and I was so glad we did! The sun was setting and provided a soft glow as a few tall, assuming weeds played off the neutral tones of the lovebird's wardrobe. I was eyeballing the sunbeams streaking through the bridge pillars knowing that that was where i'd wrap up the shoot...
Tyler + Megan are getting married in Alburquerque, New Mexico next month. I am SO excited for them to start this new chapter...AND finally get to live in the same city. They've been doing long distance for the past few months and my heart goes out to them. While distance is a pretty 'safe' way to do the engagement period, it's gut-wrenching. Been there. Done that. Thank you so much for letting me be part of these memories T + M. I hope this last month of preparing for the celebration and the rest of your lives ROCKS and is full of great, great amazing joy! | lkm